Grad Research Spotlight

Graduate students who are pursuing Designated Emphases in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies are conducting important and exciting research in a variety of fields. This page spotlights CRES DE students' research projects.

Trung PQ Nguyen

Most college students in the U.S. are exposed to the visual archive of war in Southeast Asia from 1964 to 1973 through news footage used in documentaries, fictional filmic depictions, and/or iconic photographs. Decades later, we continue to see similar types of depictions in other areas of “humanitarian concern” in order to accumulate public support for militarized intervention. Learn more about how visuals can impact the distortion of history in Trung's research.

Jess Whatcott (Politics)

California’s history of eugenics came under public scrutiny when an investigative journalist uncovered evidence that non-consensual reproductive sterilizations took place in women’s prisons as recently as 2010. My interest in the investigation was grounded in hearing similar stories of unethical medical practice within prisons while volunteering as a prisoner advocate for over 8 years. Learn more about California’s long history of eugenics policies and practices on the bodily autonomy of prisoners.

Ka-eul Yoo (Literature)

Hansenin*, or Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients in South Korea, have historically described themselves as experiencing three deaths. The first death corresponds to their diagnosis, the second to their mandatory autopsy, and the third to their cremation and burial in a designated charnel house on Sorok Island. Learn more about the fourth death and Ka-eul's research.